Many Bohol voters wait for 2 to 4 hours to cast votes

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Residents are waiting for their turn to cast their votes at Tagbilaran City Central School on Monday in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on Monday, May 12. – Leo Udtohan/Philippine Daily Inquirer

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TAGBILARAN CITY – Long queues of voters hounded the conduct of the elections in Bohol province amid the early start of the polls.

It took more than two hours for lawyer Lord Marapao IV before he could cast his vote at the Tagbilaran City Central School on Monday–an hour longer than his waiting time during the 2022 elections.

“Unlike in 2022, it took longer (this time around),” he said.

Residents are waiting for their turn to cast their votes at Booy Elem. School in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on Monday, May 12. pic.twitter.com/SPeIMMg3Gp

— leo udtohan (@leoudtohanINQ) May 12, 2025

The Inquirer observed that it took about two to four hours for voters to finally enter the polling precincts so they could cast their votes.

Marapao said the Commission on Elections should have allowed regular voters to vote from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., a period designated for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women.

“I guess we should allow everybody to vote early,” he said.

At the Booy Elementary School in Tagbilaran, the voters, both the priority and regular sectors, flocked to the polling precincts before 5 a.m.

A heated argument erupted at a waiting area when a senior citizen argued that no regular voters should be inside the area during the designated window for priority voters.

A regular voter shouted back that when he arrived at 5 a.m., there were no priority voters so he took a seat at the waiting area. /cfc